1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to greeting cards, and more particularly to a greeting card having a detachable decal section carrying an image printed in a transferrable ink that can be transferred to a surface receptive to this ink.
2. Status of Prior Art
In the toy and plaything industry, the term "character" is applicable to an established personality, human or imaginary, who is widely known. This character may be a universally-familiar cartoon figure, such as Popeye or Mickey Mouse, a movie or TV comic, such as Harpo Marx or Milton Bearle, a rock star, such as Madonna, or any recognizable personality.
Such characters play an important merchandising role, for a plaything that bears an image of a particular character and is seemingly endorsed by that character is more likely to sell than the same plaything lacking this endorsement. Hence many toys and other articles of merchandise are sold under a "Character License" which authorizes the manufacturer to link the licensed character with his products.
The present invention relates to greeting cards which are character-based and include a detachable decal section having an image of the character printed thereon that is transferable to a T-shirt or other article or surface receptive to a transferable printing ink.
The Stuart U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,365 shows a greeting card having a cut out containing a removable message section that can be removed from the basic greeting card, and by means or adhesive of magnetic material, applied to a surface. But the message on this section is not heat-transferable. The Saetre U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,171 shows a greeting card having a peel-off sheet formed of static cling vinyl on which an image is printed. This sheet may be attached by electrostatic attraction to a non-porous surface.
The Hare U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,358, discloses a kit for applying colored emblems to T-shirts. The kit includes a transfer sheet having printed thereon an outline of the emblem to be transferred. Also provided are color crayons of heat-transferable wax which are used to color in the emblem so that the colored emblem can be heat-transfered to a T-shirt.
The Holoubek patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,089,722 points out that heat transfer sheets have been widely used to apply figures, pictures, designs and words to T-shirts and other articles of apparel. The transfer sheet for this purpose uses an ink that includes a resinous plastisol and colorants. When the transfer sheet is laid down on a T-shirt and a heated iron is applied thereto, the resionous ink then liquifies and is absorbed by the fabric fibers of the T-shirt.
In Holoubek, the transfer sheet is a strip that is perforated to form tear off sections. Each section has a letter of the alphabet printed thereon in heat-transferable ink. Thus if one wishes to apply the word CAT to a T-shirt, one uses for this purpose the three tear-off sections having the letters C, A and T printed thereon in heat-transferable ink.